handmade

Brown Paper Packages tied up with String

/ Jodi / 24 Comments

…these are a few of my favorite things…

christmas brown paper packages tied up with string

I kept my wrapping simple this year – brown paper packages tied up with string…

and plenty of gift bags, which saved a lot of time!

I like to have lots of packages to give even if it is just something small or the traditional socks and boxers 🙂

And I would like to put the gifts under the tree, but little Mr. Mikey cannot be trusted these days – especially if I leave him alone in the house for any length of time (he already ate half of a Yankee peppermint-scented candle that was in a zippered gift pouch in a pile to be wrapped in my home office…. Seriously – a dog who likes peppermint!?!!?  And can unzipper a cloth bag to get to it!)

So the gifts are all stacked in my office, and the office door remains CLOSED!

christmas brown paper packages and bags

One year Mikey ate an entire pound of Chocolate Peanut Butter Meltaways that was in a box wrapped in cellophane and then gift wrapped and was in the middle of a pile of gifts under the tree.  No other boxes were disrupted somehow, but the entire box of candy was G-O-N-E!  And though chocolate is supposed to be “poison” to dogs, Mike had a bit of a tummy ache and slugged around for a few hours, but was no worse for wear.  Oh Mikey!

Anyway – the package is half the fun.  Right?

Well – I ran out of bags and had some special little gifts left to wrap that are odd shaped, so I found this cute little easy-to-make gift bag on Pootles Papercraft’s YouTube channel.

festival orf trees christmas gift bags

Sam does great tutorials on all kinds of little gift bags and boxes if you want to check her out.  And her accent is so fun to listen to also!  I used StampinUp’s Holiday Craft Paper (Under the Tree DSP), the Festival of Trees Stamp and Punch, and a bit of jute string to tie it closed.

Hope you are enjoying doing some of YOUR “favorite things!”

“The Sound of Music” was my Mother-in-Law’s favorite movie of all. Remembering her fondly, and thankful for the best gift she ever game me – her son – my Merv. ❤

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Coffee Bean Christmas Tree

/ Jodi / 15 Comments

Do you have a coffee lover on your holiday gift list?

I do, so I was excited to try this idea for a simple homemade gift.  It’s a coffee bean tree!  What do you think?

coffee bean christmas tree

styrofoam coneI started with a 12″ Styrofoam cone and painted it with brown acrylic paint.

Once dry, I adhered the coffee beans with hot glue, then decorated with a few red berries and a festive bow.

(When gluing the beans on, I laid the cone down horizontally on a large paper plate, applied an area of hot glue, and poured a handful of beans on, pressing lightly.  Once the whole side was covered, I rotated the cone and repeated.  The loose beans fall off onto the paper plate, and you can redistribute.  For the 12 inch cone, I used about 2/3 of a 1 l lb. bag of beans.)

To finish it off, I glued a brown felt circle to the bottom.

Not only does it look pretty and festive, it smells wonderful too!  I used a dark Colombian roast, but you could do a hazelnut or french vanilla or any other flavor/scent you like.

You might even like to make one for yourself.   It’s a great little kitchen Christmas tree.

I love how it turned out, and I think my coffee-lover liked it too!  🙂

Cheers & Latte Hugs,

Jodi

 

Thanksgiving Reflections

/ Jodi / 14 Comments

thanksgiving 2014 group turkey shot

I hope everyone that celebrated yesterday had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
(It still blows my mind that people read my blog from all over the world, so there are places that don’t celebrate this American holiday!)

Today is a day of relaxing and reflecting for me – on an amazing day spent with this crazy coop of turkeys that I so adore!

thanksgiving place settings

My crafty and stampin’ friends might appreciate the table setting complete with hand-stamped fall wreath place settings :).

But…  as much as I love to dress up the table, decorate, and prepare creative dishes, I have to say – Thanksgiving is no time for breaking tradition!

turkey

No messin’ with the traditional turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, canned jellied cranberry sauce (though Jill did cut them into adorable little stars that made them taste even better!), Pillsbury crescent rolls (or Nick would be seriously upset), pumpkin and apple pie.

desserts thanskgiving 2014

A couple veggies took on a little twist this year – like my new favorite Roasted Butternut Squash with Rosemary, and the amazing Brussells Sprouts with Chorizo and Almonds that Joyce and Rob brought (still need to get that recipe!), but I did get in a bit of trouble with Marty (and only Marty!) for not making that disgusting green bean casserole with (GAG!) cream of mushroom soup…

table

We toasted family and friends, and of course Oh Rob had a story for us!

rob at table

It just wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t!  (Love you Oh Rob!) 🙂

vino

and homemade Reflection Wine – for in wine there is life.

cheesey turkey

Colleen made this cute cheesey turkey – complete with brussells sprouts eyes straight from Jake’s garden, which was devoured immediately.

bacon wrapped blue cheese stuffed dates

I also made this super easy, but TO DIE FOR appetizer:  Bacon Wrapped Dates stuffed with Blue Cheese.  Every single person L O V E D them, so don’t judge by the interesting combination of ingredients!  I simply cut a slit in each date, removed the pit and replaced with a pinch of crumbled blue cheese, wrapped it in a half strip of bacon, jabbed with a toothpick to hold together and make for easy serving afterwards, and baked at 400 degrees F for about 30 minutes.  Even those that claimed to not like dates or not like blue cheese adored them!  Highly recommend these for your next get together – just saying.  🙂

finger prints

Sweet Jackie brought the most adorable gift.  A print of a tree and a frame, to which we each stamped a fingerprint or two and labeled with our name and something we are thankful for.

fingerprint tree

I already have it hanging right outside my dining room.  What an amazing memory I will always have of this day and these peeps I love.  Thank you so much, Jackie!

turkey wine bottles

And how cute are these?  Isn’t this a fun way to take wine as a hostess gift?  Dress them up for the holiday.  Jackie also made these adorable bottles of red and  white into boozy turkeys.  I LOVE THEM!

thanksgiving hostess gifts

Colleen and Jake brought me the most awesome smelling winter holiday candle – who doesn’t love a wonderful smelling candle – and Joyce and Rob brought a crock stuffed with bags of pistachios and a festive apron and hot mitt along with a Bountiful Blessings calendar with a note written on it saying, “Looking forward to spending more time together in the new year.”  Now isn’t that a great idea?!  Such creative peeps I hang out with – eh?

calendar

I share these for those looking for great ideas for hostess gifts around the holidays.  Wine, candles, nuts, aprons, calendars – all very appreciated gifts!

And Jill handmade all of us these adorable turkey t-shirts.  Is she amazing or what?!!  And look how cute they all look.

hendy

They even had turkey feathers on the back!

turkey backs

It was wonderful to SKYPE with Julie, who if you look really close at the iPad Jackie is holding, is also wearing a turkey shirt that Jill sent ahead of time.  🙂  We only missed connecting with Jayme :(.

thanksgiving 2014 group turkey shot

We ended the evening with board games, including Cards Against Humanity…

cards against humanity

and laughed until our cheeks hurt!

cards rob jill

We were even fortunate enough to have Marty’s 91 year-old Aunt Francie with us, who is such a good sport.

Marty and Aunt Francie

I am simply stuffed with thankfulness and reflecting on my many blessings.

Wishing you all the same!

Cheers & Hugs,

Jodi